Tailoring a Dancewear Venture | Sandra Meynier Kang

As a dancer, have you ever wondered about the significance of the clothes on your back? For most, the selection of brands and gear is a deliberate choice, a conscious decision shaping their dance journey. A notable name in this arena is SMK Dancewear, a label bearing the imprint of its founder and designer, Sandra Meynier Kang. The brand's ethos revolves around eco-friendly textiles, zero waste production, and a vegan, locally made product range.

Sandra Meynier Kang, is a French native who has followed a unique path in both the fashion world and rhythmic gymnastics. Her journey intertwines her passions for rhythmic gymnastics, design and ethical fashion based on eco-friendly and upcycled textiles and accessories. She graduated in 2008 from Atelier Chardon Savard, a French fashion design school based in Paris, and in 2010 she moved to Seoul as a fashion commercial agent to work for a few designer brands before creating her dancewear brand in 2017.

Kickstarting a brand new season and month of Dance Fashion, this episode delves into dancewear industry, unraveling its trials and triumphs. From collaborations and fashion expos to navigating the establishment of a dancewear brand in an unfamiliar country. Ready to discover the designer within you? Join us as we foreground dance in the background!

Soundtracks:

Birds - Tyler Twombly
Poison Ivy Yard Work - Uncle Milk
The Sunshine - DayFox
Rio Fresh - DayFox

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Sandra Meynier Kang

Costume designer / Entrepreneur

Hi guys, I am Sandra,
The creator of S M K dancewear, do you want to know my story?

After graduating from Atelier Chardon Savard in 2008, I settled in Seoul as a fashion commercial agent and worked for few designer brands.

I missed creating clothes so I bought a small sewing machine and since I didn't speak Korean (yeah ~ I have been there), I followed a guy in the subway holding seamstress attires to lead me to the textile market. From there, I started my designer life in Korea.

After a first brand launched that quickly transformed into the first version of S M K, I started to interest into fashion production & consumerism. After long researches, I took an oath :

if I create clothes, it would only by caring people involved in the process, by reducing & monitoring our impact onenvironment (from textile to A/S….) by involving into other species rights & protection (a value that I deeply feel the most in my bones).

S M K wasn’t born in a day, but during all these years, I found a path that finally made sense.

My personal life changed too (I became vegetarian to the great damn of my husband 😅) and I started a new sport/art: Ballet & rhythmic gymnastics

I was a very sporty kid, doing gymnastics, and later on, when I became student, my dream was to design for Y-3 or adidas (originals), see , sports & sportswear always had a place in my heart ^^

Starting ballet & rhythmics at 30 years old was refreshing and challenging. It inspired me so much, that after a year training, I turned … Read More